


The Boxers

by Brithna



Category: Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-24
Updated: 2012-09-24
Packaged: 2017-11-14 22:30:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/520186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brithna/pseuds/Brithna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I think at least 25% of all the DWP FanFiction I’ve ever read has Andy in a pair of boxers at some point. So—I thought I would add my two cents. Enjoy. (shameless admission - this is one of my favorites.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Boxers

THE BOXERS

**__ **

**_ PROLOGUE   _ **

It was eight o’clock and on a beautiful Saturday morning and Miranda Priestly was sound asleep. There was absolutely no reason to wake up but that was exactly what was happening; much to her disapproval. She had never been one to sleep late but now it was something she considered a treat when she could manage it. In fact weekends period were now a treat and rarely did she do any work. She really didn’t have time. There were breakfasts to cook, movies to watch, walks in the park to take and much more and all that pretty much took up the entire weekend so no, there wasn’t hardly any time for _Runway_ on the weekend.

“Miranda…” She heard her name being said and smiled again. It sounded so nice coming from those lips. It had sounded even nicer last night when it was being screamed. Miranda smiled again as she remembered and stretched under the covers.

“Miranda…hello? Wake up for just a second, honey.”

“Hm? What is it? Is the house on fire, darling? Have the girls taken over?” Miranda mumbled and rolled over to stretch an arm out over the love of her life. The one and only Andrea Sachs.

“No, the house isn’t on fire and no they haven’t taken over the house but I do need to check on them and then I want to make some coffee.”

“No.” Miranda pulled her closer and tightened her grip. “Absolutely not. They’re fine. Stay with me.”

“Honey, I need to go check on them…hey lady what are you doing?”

Miranda pulled the covers over their heads and rolled over on top of her. “Whatever I want. As usual.”

“You’re naked…which I love.” Andrea smoothed her hands over Miranda’s hips and back and she sighed. This was absolute heaven.

“I know…and you’re not. Which” Miranda lifted up a bit and let her eyes roam over Andrea’s body. “Which considering what you’re wearing…I love.”

“I know and I still think that is totally messed up. Now get off of me. The sooner you let me go check on them and get the coffee going the sooner I’ll be back here.”

But it was true. Miranda did love it. From the first moment she had laid eyes on Andrea in those boxers and that tank top, she was gone, done, finished, totally lost, not to mention a drooling mess. Well she’d been gone for her before that but the boxers sealed her fate.

Miranda rolled back over and settled back into the bed. “Fine then. Leave me for the girls and coffee. I never thought I’d ever hear the words ‘get off of me’ come out of your mouth. Now that I know where your _priorities_ lie, go make your precious coffee.” Miranda forced herself not to laugh when she saw Andrea roll her eyes and nearly fall out of the bed. This new bed was higher off the ground than their old one and after a month Andrea still wasn’t use to it. “You’re going to kill yourself getting out of this bed one day darling and I’ll try my best not to laugh when you do.”

“Shut it. You wanted this bed so it’s pretty much your fault anyway. I’m never approving another furniture purchase sight unseen again.”

“I wanted it because it’s beautiful and you’re beautiful in it.” Miranda put on the best ‘pouting’ performances she could muster.

“Stop trying to suck up, I’ll be back in a minute.” Andrea threw a pillow at her then stumbled out of the room, closing the door behind her.

“Dear God help me.” Miranda whispered into the pillow she covered her face with after watching Andrea walk out. After two years she still felt like a horny teenager half the time and it didn’t look like that was going away anytime soon. Which was good…but it drove her crazy. “Those damn boxers…” She whispered again then turned over to try and go back to sleep.

**_ EPISODE 1 _ **

“No Nigel, absolutely not. I want the disk, the files, the proofs...all of it—here tonight. You’re on the ground now so get someone over here with the things I’m asking for.” Why this was even an argument was beyond her. Nigel was back from the Brazil shoot–now, therefore she should have the things she was asking for. To wait until tomorrow was ludicrous at best. She could get so much done tonight that by tomorrow morning everything would be ready to put in motion and hopefully their problems would be solved with this reshoot. But no, Nigel wanted to argue. He would be lucky if his head wasn’t on a spike by the end of the night.

“Miranda, it’s ten o’clock at night, we’ve all been up for twenty hours if not more, everybody needs some sleep…wait, hang on.”

Miranda could hear someone else’s voice in the background. It sounded like Andrea, which made her hand that wasn’t holding the phone clinch into a fist several times. That was becoming a horrible nervous habit. There had to be some way to get over this…thing…this…infatuation…this…obsession, dare she say; crush? Oh, God.

“Nigel, I do not have all night.”

“Yes, sorry Miranda. Andy is about to head your way. I’m getting everything together for her then putting her straight into a cab once we’re out of the airport.”

“Fine.” Miranda hung up the phone and threw it on to her desk, where it almost slid off and hit the floor before she reached out and grabbed it. It was plainly obvious that Andrea had volunteered to bring the things she needed. That girl was going to be her early death, always eager to please, always eager to do the impossible, always eager to be there…anywhere Miranda needed her to be. Under any other circumstances this would have made for an ideal situation for Miranda to find herself in with the amount of work she needed done on a daily basis, but this was different. This was borderline insanity. No, it _was_ insanity. Pure unadulterated insanity.

While Miranda waited for Andrea to arrive, she checked on the girls to distract herself; both of whom had been sleeping for a few hours already. She turned the fan on for Cassidy and in contrast she threw another blanket on top of Caroline, their internal thermostats were anything but identical and now that they were sharing a room again it was a bit of job to keep them equally comfortable.

That had been going on for a year now, sharing a room. Well it wasn’t exactly sharing considering all Miranda had to do to keep them happy was have the wall between their rooms knocked out. As much as they both fought and swore up and down that they wanted to be ‘individuals’, they still wanted to be together at night.

Her eyes fell on the pile of clothes in the corner that they had yet to put away so Miranda set to work quietly putting their clothes in their respective drawers. That’s when she caught sight of the stack of movies on the dresser they shared. They were all from Andrea. Miranda put her hand gently on top of the stack and closed her eyes for a second as if she could see her there, and she could.

Andrea was always buying Caroline and Cassidy something. Movies obviously, but there were books, cd’s and God knows what else. She blatantly ignored Miranda’s order to stop because Andrea loved them. She had said it on more than one occasion and to make matters worse, the girls loved her too. One Harry Potter book and one apology later and their relationship grew faster than anything Miranda had ever seen. And it wasn’t just because of the gifts. That really had nothing to do with it. Andrea just knew how to talk to them and that was all they really wanted and of course it helped that Andrea treated them as two separate people. That had always thrilled them to no end.

Miranda heard the door open and had to stop herself from running down the stairs. Andrea had been gone for four days and that was four days too long. She was never letting Nigel steal her away again. Ever. Just before she started down the last flight of stairs she gripped the banister and slowly walked down in her usual regal manner, all the while running in her mind. This was torture all in itself.

“Andrea, I trust you brought everything I asked for?” Miranda reached the bottom step and instantly regretted allowing Nigel to send Andrea on this errand that now seemed so silly. She looked exhausted and ready to fall asleep anywhere, even the floor if given a chance.

“Yes, I hope so. I just took whatever Nigel gave me.” Andrea stepped closer and handed everything over. “I got your last e-mail before we boarded the plane but I didn’t have time to make the-“

Miranda cut her off. She wasn’t about to listen to an inventory of what did or did not get done when the girl looked like she was about to fall over. “Andrea that’s fine. It can wait. Go have a seat in the kitchen. Now.” Miranda could tell Andrea was confused but went anyway because she always did whatever Miranda said. Miranda headed outside to the waiting cab, paid the driver and took her bags. Andrea wasn’t going anywhere tonight, which was ridiculous really.  Andrea was perfectly capable of making it home on her own but…oh, God. Miranda shook her head and walked back into the kitchen where Andrea was patiently waiting for her to return.

“Miranda, I really need to go the cab is waiting.”

“Not any longer. Your bags are by the stairs. I’ll not having you falling asleep in the back of some cab that will end up taking you God only knows where. You will stay here tonight. You need rest.”

“Oh…okay. Actually that’s good then…where are my bags again?”

Miranda was a little shocked that she so readily agreed but guessed that it was probably due to how tired she was. “As I said they are by the stairs.” Andrea hopped off the bar stool and went right past Miranda and straight to her bags where she knelt down on the floor and opened the nearest suit case. “Andrea, I’m more than sure that we can carry your things up to the guest room. There is no need to-“

“I know. I know…I just need this first. If I’m staying the night I can do this now…”

Do _what_ now? Before she had a chance to ask, Andrea was on her feet and headed up the stairs. Miranda couldn’t see what she held in her hands now that her back was turned but she decided to follow her and see where this mystery was headed. Ironically enough she stopped right in front of the girls bedroom then turned and faced Miranda, whispering “I’m not going to wake them up, okay?”

“Okay.” Miranda wasn’t sure what else to say since it almost looked like she was sleep walking…and besides this was too interesting to ruin now.

Andrea opened the door very quietly and reached out to turn on the small lamp that was nearby. Miranda was amazed that she could find it in the dark so easily and stood silently watching as Andrea looked at both the girls for a moment. Something in her expression changed and Miranda wasn’t sure what it was exactly but Andrea seemed to relax a little, like a weight had been lifted.

Once Andrea was done watching the sleeping twins she moved to Cassidy’s side and placed a folded t-shirt and card at the foot of her bed then did the same with Caroline’s. She stepped back toward Miranda but kept watching them. Without realizing it she practically walked backwards right into Miranda who would have had no other choice than to wrap her arms around the young woman and kiss her. No, no, no…insanity! “When did you find the time to shop?” Miranda whispered. When indeed? Their work schedule for the re-shoot had been packed solid.

“I made time…that’s what I do Miranda. I make time for what’s important. _That_ ” she pointed to the girls “is important.” Andrea sighed and headed downstairs to get her bags. Miranda barely had enough time to move out of her way. 

For the next four hours Miranda did nothing but draw doodles on post-it notes and occasionally look over the pile of things she had _demanded_ be brought to her. So…Andrea thought her girls were important. She thought they were worth the time and effort to break away from an over-loaded schedule to go out and personally pick out gifts for them. Miranda always brought something back for them but could not remember the last time she personally took care of it. There was always an assistant around to do that job. Come to think of it Miranda hardly ever personally bought them anything.

Miranda ripped another post-it note in half and threw it in the trash can beside her desk. It wasn’t just gifts though…it was much deeper than that. Miranda rarely did anything for them. Yes she tucked them in at night, made an occasional breakfast or dinner for them, watched TV with them; she went to some school functions, but all those things were only when _Runway_ allowed it. And those things paled in comparison to what a mother _should_ be doing for her child. Miranda never made a doctor’s appointment for them let alone actually accompanied them. That was what Meryl was for. Miranda never packed their lunches, helped them with homework, or took them to the park; again that was why Meryl was around. Yet in her heart Miranda knew that if these were Andrea’s children, she would stop at nothing to be there every step of the way.

Then there was that other thing, that attraction, that pull. It was always there but now that Andrea was only two doors down the hallway, it was all that much stronger, all that much harder to deny. Miranda wondered how long she could continue to contain it. She wanted to reach out, to admit it, to claim her for her own. Miranda wasn’t even sure how it had happened. All she knew was that one day she woke up and Andrea was in some way, a part of their lives and Miranda found herself in love. She couldn’t even pin point the week, day, or moment when it happened. It just happened and there was nothing she could do about it now. If Miranda were to pull away in the slightest and remove Andrea from her children’s lives not to mention her own, she knew there would be a complete mutiny in not only her household, but also in her heart.

Enough. It was two in the morning and there was no point in staying in here using up her entire supply of post-it notes. Miranda got up and turned the lights off. She had serious doubts that she would get any sleep but at least she could try. Before turning toward her own bedroom she could not resist turning to the right and going to check on Andrea. Only Andrea wasn’t there. The door to the guestroom was wide open and the bed empty. Miranda bit her bottom lip as she looked toward the bathroom door and noticed that the light was off in there too so…where was she?

Miranda began her search by first stopping by her children’s room on the off chance that Andrea had woken up in the middle of the night to check on them. That might sound strange to anyone else but to Miranda it sounded completely possible. She had no luck there and decided to head downstairs to investigate. She had to be around here somewhere since her suitcases were still in the guest room and Miranda had not heard the front door open. It was highly unlikely Andrea would just slip out in such a manner anyway.

When Miranda reached the hallway leading to the kitchen she breathed a sigh of relief. There was a soft light, probably the lights over the bar, casting a shadow across the floor. Miranda quietly padded down the hallway and felt herself involuntarily take a deep, shuttering breath. There she was, sitting on a bar stool eating a sandwich and it was oddly the sexiest thing Miranda had ever seen her life. The part of Miranda that wanted to analyze and to rationalize that feeling was immediately shut down by the part of her that just wanted to keep focusing on what was in front of her.

Boxers…white ones with thin blue lines. And a tank top…a tight tank top that left little to the imagination. _That_ was what seriously got Miranda going? Turned her on? Miranda had seen both her husbands in the same manner of dress but was certainly never affected by it. Not in the least. In fact Miranda never was affected by her husbands in _any_ way period. But this…this was…

“Miranda? Hey.”

“Ahem…yes…hello.” Breathe, air flow, in and out, remember how to do that? Yes, okay. She remembered. “You were hungry?”

“Yeah, sorry. I can’t sleep if I’m hungry. I didn’t have time to eat dinner.”

Finally Miranda moved and stood across from her at the bar. She wasn’t sure if she had the coordination to actually maneuver a stool right now. “It’s quite alright. Why did you not eat? Surely there was time. Even on the plane.”

Andrea finished chewing another bite of her sandwich then continued. “Not really. I was too busy doing things for you and Nigel all at the same time. I know I don’t really have a right to ask you this but please, please don’t send me away with him for a while. I hate to admit it but I can only do so many things at once before I start pulling all my hair out. And I’m pretty partial to my hair, so if you could-“

“Yes, yes I was thinking the same thing tonight. I should have never let you go. Not that you can’t do a wonderful job for him, but I need to tell HR to find him his own assistant. I’ll work on that tomorrow…today.” Miranda noticed that Andrea’s bottle of water was almost empty and went to the refrigerator to grab another one. This was a bad idea because it put her back in direct line of sight of those boxers. Miranda felt her face heat up. What in the hell…maybe she was going crazy.

“Thanks for the water. Did you look at everything…get everything done that you wanted?”

No, not in the least. “Yes, everything looks fine for now. I’ll be able to do more tomorrow.”

“Cool. I think I’m going back to bed now. I’ll bring this water with me…thanks.” Andrea climbed off the bar stool and stretched. Oh, dear God.

Miranda took her plate and put it in the sink. “Well, goodnight then. I’m leaving at eight o’clock this morning.”

“I’ll be ready. Night…” Andrea disappeared through the door way and Miranda grabbed the counter top, watching her every move as she walked away. A sweat broke out on her forehead, her hands were clammy and she actually felt nauseous. Once Andrea was completely out of sight, Miranda leaned over  and put her face down on the cool marble counter top. Better…much better.

**_ EPISODE 2 _ **

Several months had come and gone and Miranda was able to successfully control herself. Perhaps not totally but things were certainly better than they had been the first week after seeing Andrea in those boxers. Miranda almost didn’t survive that first week and had kept Andrea out of the office at every opportunity. She could hardly look at the girl without feeling sick and completely consumed with desire all at the same time.

 Now winter was here and the first blizzard was upon them. The girls were thrilled of course and since tomorrow was Saturday Miranda would be home with them. Yes, she’d started making a better effort in that department lately; being a better mother. And whenever life at home started to spiral out of control again Miranda tried hard to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. More often than not, if she could just let go a bit and see that much of the time her work load was so heavy simply because she did not trust her own people to do their jobs; she could spend a lot more time with her children. It didn’t always work out that way but anything was better than the way things had been before.

“Mom!” Miranda was in the kitchen and could hear Cassidy screaming from all the way upstairs. If both the girls didn’t learn to _talk_ soon instead of _scream_ she was going to string them both up by their toes. Miranda went down the hall and looked up the stairwell.

“Must you scream? Can you not talk like a normal human being? Are we reaching for the stars here? No, not really.”

“Sorry, gees. Will you make us some popcorn? I can’t do it. Caroline will un-pause the game and let me get killed if I leave!”

“Will not!” Caroline screamed out and Miranda groaned. It was no use.

“Yes ,you will! You do it every freakin’ time!”

“Aright, aright. I will make the popcorn if you both agree to stop screaming.”

“Awesome, yes. No screaming. Got it.”

Cassidy turned around and two seconds later they were screaming at one another again. Ear plugs were about to be added to the shopping list on the refrigerator.

***

By eight o’clock that evening Miranda had threatened to _pause_ the game permanently at least ten times but of course never followed through with it. At least they finally moved on to a game that required less screaming and yelling. Or maybe they were just winding down? Whatever the cause, Miranda thanked God and settled down in the study with her journal until _The Book_ arrived. Speaking of… Miranda heard the front door open and headed downstairs.

“Andrea, I see you made it through the snow?” Andrea was quickly putting the dry-cleaning in the closet and handed her the book.

“Yep, gotta run. I’m spending the night with my friend Lilly and the cab driver said he wouldn’t wait long for me. I honestly don’t even know if he can make it to her house. She lives across town.”

“Well, hurry then. Be safe.”

“Will do, see ya Monday.” Andrea walked out the door and Miranda moved to the window to watch her go. After a few seconds thought, Andrea was out of the cab with back-pack in hand and she actually kicked the door closed, quite hard as the cab drove off. Interesting. Miranda went to the front door and opened it as Andrea walked back up the steps.

“Argh. Okay, I need to call around for another cab. That guy” she pointed down the street “is a complete jerk and swears up and down that he can’t make it across town in the snow _or_ back to my apartment. Which is total bull-shit.”

Miranda moved out of the doorway and motioned for her to come inside. “Get in here already. It’s freezing. Why don’t you stay…just stay. Andrea, I seriously doubt any cabs will be venturing out tonight.” Oh great. Just invite her to stay at the house like it’s no big deal. Miranda would suffer another sleepless night and likely be a complete mess but that hardly mattered.

“Yeah?”

“ _Yeah._ ”

Andrea gave her a bright smile which took the chill out of the room and out of her chest. “Let me call Lilly then. She’ll be mad but whatever. You’re right anyway. I don’t think anyone will be getting out in this weather any time soon.”

“Mom who’s that!” This time it was Caroline that was hanging over the railing screaming her little head off.

“It is Andrea. She’s staying, the weather is too bad.”

There were whispers then two pairs of feet blazing a fast trail down the stairs. “Andy!” Both of them carried on like they had not seen her in days.

“Hey guys.” Miranda took her bag just before she was knocked into the wall by them. “Jesus, calm down. You’re smothering me.” The girls finally released her and Andrea took off her coat, handing it to Miranda who had never hung up anyone’s coat yet this felt like a good thing to do. The right thing to do.

“We’re fixing to play that new zombie game you got us. Come on!” Suddenly Andrea was gone and Miranda was left alone in the foyer shaking her head.  

An hour later Miranda would get the shock of a life-time as Andrea burst into the study. And oh, yes this time it was light blue boxers with darker blue strips…and that same white tank top. If it wasn’t for the mixed look of panic and amusement on Andrea’s face, Miranda would have broken out into a sweat again.

“Quick” Andrea said in a whisper as she tossed her an Xbox controller without warning and Miranda barely caught it. “Hide that. I’m going to kill Caroline. We’ll be lucky if she doesn’t turn out to be serial killer. I made her promise to not un-pause the game while I went down to the kitchen and she did it anyway. Now I’m dead! She let the zombies eat my face off! What a complete and utter _twit_!”

Miranda covered her mouth to keep from laughing and stuck the controller in her desk drawer and locked it.

“Thanks. Gotta go.” Andrea ran out of the room, leaving the door wide open. Miranda listened for a minute then Caroline could clearly be heard throwing a dramatic fit over her lost controller. Seconds later Miranda heard heavy footfalls as the girl came barreling through the doorway.

“Where is it? I know she gave it to you. Where is it?” Again Miranda suppressed her laughter and put on her best poker face.

“Darling, I haven’t seen her and I certainly have no idea what you are talking about.”

“That’s it. I’m breaking out the water balloons!” Caroline started to run out the door but Miranda caught up with her.

“Caroline Priestly, you listen to me and good. If one, and I do mean _one_ water balloon is released inside this house you will _never_ see any sort of game console again. Do-you-understand-me?”

Caroline gasped because the look Miranda was giving her told her she meant business. “Yes, ma’am.” Caroline turned and made her way quietly and calmly downstairs.

Miranda rubbed her temples and decided that before her house was completely destroyed, the gaming war had to come to an end. She unlocked the drawer and took the controller downstairs where she found Caroline on top of Andrea in the middle of the living room floor. They were in the middle of quite a wrestling match while Cassidy _stood_ on the couch watching. Miranda took a moment to decide how to go about breaking this up and saw Andrea’s tank top drift up her midsection, showing her smooth skin. Miranda had to hold onto the door frame. The sweats, the clammy hands, the nausea were all back in full force.

“Oh, crap! Hey, quit it! Mom’s here.” Cassidy jumped off the couch like someone had lit a fire-cracker under her behind and pulled Caroline up off the floor.

“ _What_ is going on here?” Miranda was finally able to get enough air in her lungs to speak.

Andrea slowly sat up but kept a wary eye on Caroline in case she decided to attack again. “Well apparently since you wouldn’t let her throw water balloons at me she decided to beat me up instead. _Thanks_.”

“You’re quite welcome.” Miranda walked over to the TV cabinet and un-plugged the Xbox straight from the wall. The twins and Andrea let out identical screams of horror. “Now all _three_ of you are dead…and grounded. Someone pick out a movie. A movie where no one dies or gets their faces eaten off, please.” Miranda tossed Caroline’s game controller into the chest where they kept all their gaming gear and headed off to the kitchen to get more popcorn.

Mid-way through _National Treasure: Book of Secrets_ , the twins were asleep on the floor and Andrea was curled up on one end of the couch while Miranda sat curled up on the other. Miranda felt as if they were both trying to deliberately not be within touching distance of one another. Now wouldn’t that be something.

Andrea seemed intent on watching every second of the movie but Miranda couldn’t have cared less about it. Instead she watched Andrea out of the corner of her eye and let her mind indulge in the many recurring fantasies she had. Not all of them involved them being _naked_ either. In fact a lot of them were about situations just like this; the four of them at home, watching movies. Suddenly Miranda was brought back by Andrea’s quiet voice.

“So…I’m grounded?” Andrea’s face was still planted on the TV.

“No. That’s the most fun they’ve had in this house in a very long time…so no, you are not grounded.”

“Hm. Okay. It was fun…I enjoy them you know.”

Miranda felt a huge lump forming in her throat. “I know you do. They enjoy your company as well, very much.” And so did she…very much. “Are you cold?” Miranda could see her pull her arms around her chest.

“A little.”

“Here.” Miranda pulled the light blanket off of herself and spread it out over Andrea. Miranda was sad to see the boxers disappear under there but this fix would last her a while. It would have too…perhaps for good.

**_ EPISODE 3 _ **

A week later Miranda found herself in a rather odd situation. Well it wasn’t so much odd as it was rare. Meryl, the ever faithful housekeeper/nanny/magician was on a well-earned vacation to Australia courtesy of Miranda and during such times Miranda refused to have anyone else in the house. It was only ever for a week or so and getting someone else to come in was just too much hassle to go through, not to mention that 90% of the time when Meryl came back she got angry because things had not been done _her_ way. So, Miranda and girls made do and now here she was in the living room folding socks, underwear and t-shirts late into the night.

Just as Miranda was nearing the bottom of the clothes basket she came across something she did _not_ need to see. Not when she was just beginning to get over Andrea being here last week. This was too much.

Miranda picked up the tank top and held it for a moment. She could see her wrestling on the floor with Caroline, and laughing as she chased Cassidy upstairs to their bedroom. She could see her eating a sandwich at two o’clock in the morning, and wrapped in a blanket watching a movie in the dark. Miranda could see everything.

Quickly folding the tank-top, Miranda set it aside and picked up the boxers next. This brought on a new set of feelings; a deep seated hunger, a craving that burned her through and through. And since this hunger, this craving that burned through her, went unfulfilled, Miranda was left with a cold, and empty feeling that chilled her to the bone. These contradicting temperatures that coursed through her body and emotions that put her mind in a tail-spin were wearing on her defenses.

“Miranda?”

Miranda jumped and the boxers fell to the floor. “My God Andrea I didn’t even hear you come in.”

“Yeah, I can see that…hey are you okay?” Andrea placed _The Book_ on the coffee table and sat down on the end of the couch that wasn’t covered by clothes. “I see Meryl is on vacation?”

“Yes, yes she is.” Miranda wasn’t about to answer the ‘are you okay’ question. Andrea had come in two seconds before the first tear fell from Miranda’s eyes. Thankfully she was well practiced at keeping them at bay.

“Need some help? Oh, are those mine?” She pointed to the boxers on the floor.

Miranda blushed. “Who else’s would they be?” Taking a queue from Caroline and Cassidy, the phrase ‘ _Seriously?_ ’ came to mind.

“Yeah, well…you never know.”

Miranda rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Andrea you know better than anyone else that I am not seeing anyone.” Or she should.

“I know, I know. It was a joke.” Andrea laughed which made Miranda breathe a little easier as she picked up the boxers and folded them neatly then regrettably handed them over along with the tank-top.

“Here are your things. I am sure you’ve missed them.”

“Tons. Are you sure you’re alright? You look like something is wrong?”

“I’m perfectly fine. You should go home.” Miranda needed her to go. Now. She was too close to breaking down.

“Okay, see ya tomorrow then. Good luck with that laundry.” Then she was gone, quietly slipping down the stairs and out the front door.

Miranda rested back against the couch and finally let the tears fall.

**_ EPISODE 4 _ **

“Andy please, oh please! Come over. We need help!” Cassidy whined into the phone. Miranda rolled her eyes and poured herself another cup of coffee. Andrea was going to strangle the girl. Miranda knew that at 8 o’clock in the morning on a Saturday Andrea was most assuredly still in bed.

“Yeah…uh huh. But we need you. Uh huh. Yeah…yeah I promise. Mom will do it.”

“Mom will do what?” Miranda hissed at her across the kitchen table. How did she suddenly get dragged into this mess?

“Okay, yeah…who cares just throw something on and come over… Awesome, bye!” Cassidy shut the phone off and smiled sweetly up at Miranda. Oh, God.

“What have you done Cassidy?”

“Weeeeeell, Caroline and I need help with our art project and Andy is like awesome with that kind of stuff you know. So I called her right? Right. And she said yes, but…but.”

“ _But?_ ”

“She said for you to cook her breakfast. She’s still in bed and she sounds grumpy. So…cook her breakfast. Please, oh please?” Cassidy actually put her hands together and begged over and over until Miranda agreed just to get her to shut up. She wasn’t ready for this but it didn’t look like she was getting out of it. A few months had gone by since her little crying session on the couch and Andrea had not stayed over since then. Hopefully this would be a short visit and one in which Miranda could remain in hiding. Expect for the cooking of breakfast of course, and hearing them all laugh and have fun, and sensing Andrea’s presence all over the house no matter what room Miranda closed herself up in.

***

“She’s here, she’s here!” Caroline called out from the front door.

“I’m very serious when I say – stop yelling.” Miranda stuck her head out of the kitchen doorway and pleaded yet again for quiet voices…or something close to it. It seemed unattainable of course but she would never stop hoping for it…after all she lived on hope.

“Hey, guys. This art project had better be pretty freakin’ important.” Andrea stumbled through the door and was promptly dragged into the kitchen and directed to a chair.

“Good morning, Andrea.” Miranda tried not to spill the coffee as she poured it. She was beautiful, not exactly her happy, go-lucky usual self; but beautiful none the less.

“Mornin’…I hate your kids.”

“I can certainly sympathize. Girls you owe Andrea some huge favors and the next time her face gets eaten whilst killing zombies, you’ll both regret it. Understand?”

“Yep. Got it. Thanks for comin’ over Andy.” Cassidy slid up to her and gave her a hug which Andrea playfully resisted at first but finally gave in.

“Alright, alright, what’s a girl gotta do around here for coffee and food? I thought I said-“

“Here.” Miranda set coffee and a plate of eggs and French toast down in front of her before she continued to complain. “Eat, drink and be quiet.” Miranda sat down across from her with her own cup of coffee when the girls abandoned them to gather up their art supplies.

“So…what’s with this art project?”

“Honestly I have no I idea. It’s quite possible they made the whole thing up.” Which really was a possibility. Miranda wouldn’t put anything past them.

“Hm…hey this is good. Thanks.”

“Well they said you demanded food so-what was I supposed to do?” Miranda raised an eyebrow and took a sip of coffee.

Andrea put her fork down and met her gaze. “You could have said no.”

“Yes, I could have. But what would be the fun in that?”

***

As planned, Miranda tried to close herself off in her study and totally ignore what was going on in her home. It wasn’t working but she wasn’t about to change her plan now. _But_ , it had been a while and Miranda could certainly use some more coffee. Perhaps it was safe enough for that; perhaps she could make it downstairs unnoticed and get back to her hiding place?

“Alright, you monsters. Tell me what this is really about because I know this is not about an art project. Modeling clay and water-colors is far beneath you and Dalton Academy. Spill it.” Miranda stopped outside the girls’ door and remained out of sight. She had to hear this.

Caroline spoke first “Don’t be mad, okay? We couldn’t think of any other way.”

“I’m not mad just tell me what’s up.” Miranda looked in between the crack of the door and the doorframe and could see Andrea laying on the floor concentrating on turning a ball of clay into a something that was supposed to resemble a cup.

Now it was Cassidy’s turn. She was better at confessions than Caroline “We need help. Mother’s Day is in like two weeks and we have no idea what to do this time. Well we kinda do but she probably would get mad.”

“Hm…” Andrea forgot about her cup and the girls put down their projects too. Miranda felt like she should leave but even if their surprise was ruined they would never know it. She needed to hear this.

“Like what have you done in the past?”

“Just the usual normal stuff…cards, flowers…whatever…boring stuff.” Caroline said.

“Well what do you have in mind this time? Are we going for bigger, better, non-boring?”

“For sure.” Cassidy said as she rolled over on the floor and rested her head on Andrea’s back. That was probably very uncomfortable but Andrea made no complaint. “You know the Friday before? We wanna go to the office and surprise her. Bring her lunch or something because you know she probably won’t leave the office. But then she might not have time to eat with us either so…we’re kinda stuck.”

“Okay, actually I think that sounds really cool. But you need help with logistics, right?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Caroline said. “But we want you to eat with us too…cause you’re with us a lot and stuff, you know?”

This broke Miranda’s heart. In a good way. Andrea _was_ with them a lot and to know the girls would want her with them on that day was special…it felt right.

“I don’t know guys. This is about Mother’s Day…I tell you what. I will make sure she’s free for lunch and I’ll get you from school. Even if I have to make up some weird excuse to get out of the office, I’ll get you okay?”

“Okay, coolness. What if she gets mad and fires you or something for getting us out of school?” Caroline continued on while Cassidy seemed content to lay on Andrea’s back and just listen for once. Amazing.

“Don’t you worry about that. She won’t fire me. She can’t make it without me at work. For reals…” All three of them started giggling and Miranda quietly turned around and made her way to the kitchen. She had heard enough and needed time to regain her composure.

***

“Oh my God, Caroline! Shut up I’ll be right back.” Miranda heard Andrea yell on her way to the kitchen. That was it. Miranda was never telling anyone to be quiet or to stop yelling again. It was simply a waste of time. At least she was alright again. After hearing the twins Mother’s Day planning session Miranda had to really rein herself in. Andrea should be with them for lunch that day. It wasn’t even something to question. She _should_ be with them but Miranda already knew that Andrea would refuse.

“Hey. We’ve moved on to water-colors now. Got any old cups?”

“So they really have a school project?” Miranda wanted to test her to see if she would reveal the plan.

“Yeah, they do. Two of them actually.”

“My, my what a heavy work load. There are some old cups in the cabinet there by the refrigerator, very top shelf.”

“Okay, got it.” Andrea went over to the cabinet and in spite of her height she still had to stand on the tip of her toes to reach the top shelf. Miranda just happened to look over as she did so. Her shirt rode up just enough and Miranda could see the waist band of yes, boxer shorts under her jeans. These were white with tiny blue squares. Over breakfast when Andrea said ‘yeah, I literally just threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and came on over’ she meant just that very thing.

Suddenly Miranda’s full cup of coffee was over-turned and spilling out over the table, trickling down the sides onto the floor. She jumped up quickly, knocking over her chair in an effort to grab some paper towels.

“Ah, shit. Here let me help you.” Andrea came over with a dish towel but stopped short. “Miranda what’s wrong? You’re shaking.” Before she knew what was happening Miranda was being pulled up from the floor where she was wiping up coffee. “Hey look at me. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing. Go upstairs. I will finish this, that’s all.” Throwing a little of that _Runway_ tone in there worked. Andrea let her go, nodded that she understood, and walked out.

As soon as she was gone Miranda forgot all about the coffee that was still dripping onto the floor and picked up her chair to sit back down. Her hands simply wouldn’t hold the paper towels, they were shaking too badly and she felt a little weak in the knees. This was bad. This was really bad. Not to mention ridiculous. Miranda still couldn’t figure out what it was about the boxers but she was getting crazier every time she saw them. She wanted her. She wanted Andrea in her life, in her family and most urgently in her _bed_ , and if she couldn’t have that, Miranda wasn’t sure what would become of her.

**_ EPISODE 5 _ **

Miranda looked down at the white box on her desk and spread her hands across the top of it. She could not believe it. She just could _not_ believe that this was it. Today was the day. The last day. Andrea’s last day. It had happened so fast…or it seemed to anyway. It had taken a month to finalize which meant there had been a _month_ of time for Miranda to say something, do something. But nothing, Miranda had done nothing and now Andrea was about to walk out of the door for good.

Miranda bit her lip as a wave of pain rolled through her body again. That had been happening for days. It was a pain that started in her chest then made its way down to her toes. It was a mixture; sometimes dull, other times sharp. Sometimes it moved through her quickly and other times it just made its way down inch by agonizing inch nearly bringing her to her knees. Like right now. Miranda grasped the arm of her chair and lowered herself down into it. Passing out in her office would be the very last thing she needed to deal with today.

But Miranda just couldn’t get over the speed at which everything happened. One moment she had been on the phone with Spencer, the managing editor of the _Wall Street Journal Magazine_ , talking about his latest issue and the next thing she knew he was sitting in her office basically asking her to hand Andrea over to him. Andrea had met Spencer through Miranda on several occasions at various functions and events and he spoke with her often enough to know that her true desires leaned toward journalism…and then just like that, he wanted her for his own.

How could Miranda have been so stupid? She should have never introduced them. She should have never introduced Andrea to _anyone_ period. _Ever_. But no, she could not have denied Andrea the chance to meet the people that would help her one day. The whole thing almost didn’t happen though; Andrea had literally been in shock when Miranda called her into her office to speak with Spencer. Yet she had taken the job right then and there, granted for some reason she looked sick when she said yes, but she had said yes all the same.

Miranda couldn’t deny that it would be perfect for her.  It was a good place to be and it already had a solid base since it was published specifically for clientele that already bought the paper to begin with. There was a good mixture of fashion, food, culture and all sorts of other things. At the very least Andrea would have fun and get to travel. And most of all? She could grow into her writing and learn. That could never happen here at _Runway_ so at the end of the day this was a good thing. But the end of the day was a long way off.

And this box, this box was killing her. It was a horrible idea but Miranda was giving it to her anyway. She had thought long and hard about what to get her as a ‘going away’ present. Miranda had never done this sort of thing before for someone under her employ, but here again it just felt right. After all Andrea was more than that, so much more. She loved her. For the second time today Miranda turned to the window and blinked back tears. She just hoped that she could hold it together long enough to give her the box and see her out the door.

The girl’s picked out ten t-shirts for her, all v-neck vintage tee’s with a mixture of comic book characters and rock bands. She would definitely love those. On the other hand she would probably question Miranda’s sanity when she reached the bottom of the box. In the bottom of the box Andrea would find ten neatly folded tank-tops in different colors with several being white and then…then under those? Under those she would find ten pairs of boxer shorts. It was crazy, really crazy, but Miranda couldn’t help herself. She even unpackaged each one and neatly rolled them up to make sure they all fit properly in the box just the way she wanted them too.

“Miranda.” It was Emily. “The girls are on their way up.”

“Fine. Let them right in when they arrive. That’s all.”

The girls, with the help of Roy, were taking Andrea to lunch today. This was going to be hard for them. The night that Miranda told them Andrea was leaving, they both cried to the point where she had to call Andrea, who in turn reassured them that she _would_ still see them. That didn’t work nearly as well as Miranda had hoped and she could tell that Andrea was upset about it too.

Miranda could hear the girls coming down the hallway so she straightened up, cleared her throat and put on a good face. They didn’t need to see her this way.

“Hey, Mom!” Both of them came running in and hugged her.

“Hello, darlings. I see you’re here on time but I’m afraid Andrea is still in Nigel’s office.” Miranda moved to the couch with them.

“Call her. Nigel can have her later. Did you finish wrapping the box?” Cassidy was very adamant that the box have pink and purple ribbon all over it.

“I will call her and yes the box is wrapped. See, it’s over there on my desk.”

“Hey, that looks nice. Can I call Nigel?” Caroline was already up, headed to the phone dialing Nigel’s extension before Miranda could say yes or no.

“Andy we’re here!” That’s all it took and Caroline hung the phone up. About a minute later Andrea came in and was immediately surrounded by four arms and in a move that surprised Miranda, Andrea got down on her knees to be more at their level and gripped them both very tightly. The three of them grew a little quiet then Miranda saw the tears. She got up and closed the door to her office, resting her back against it. The tears spilling out of her daughter’s eyes ripped her apart. Miranda couldn’t remember a time when they had looked so genuinely upset, so truly hurt. When she saw Andrea’s back visibly shaking; Miranda felt herself ripping apart just a little bit more. 

Caroline looked up for where her face had been buried in Andrea’s neck “Mom, make her stay. Don’t let her go take the stupid job. Make her stay here.”

Well that was it. Miranda couldn’t hold it in any longer. A month’s worth of tears just came spilling out, falling to the floor much like the spilled coffee in her kitchen. Miranda leaned down and kissed both the girls on the head. “Enough. Everyone up, let’s go sit on the couch.” Andrea and girls got up and sat on the couch as Miranda pulled a chair over and sat across from them with a nice big box of Kleenex from which they all pulled from. “Okay, listen to me.” Miranda took each of the twins’ hands in her own. “I cannot make her stay here. You must see that this is a good thing for Andrea and we cannot deny her that. No matter how much we want to. I cannot keep her here forever.” Miranda had to pause for a second to wipe her eyes again. No matter how much she wanted to look at Andrea right now there was no way she could. “Now I have been telling you, and she has been telling you that you _will_ see her again. I promise you that you will. You must believe us.”

“But it won’t be like now. She won’t come all the time…like at night.” Caroline said as she leaned over into Andrea’s arm.

“Baby, I know but she will see you as often as she can…you will see…I promise you, you will see. It will be alright and I’m sure if you beg her hard enough and promise her breakfast that she would be more than happy to come stay the night with you sometime.” Miranda paused to let Andrea verbally agree. She needed to hear that just as much as the twins did. She knew they would all see Andrea again but Caroline had been right, it would not be the same. Not at all.

“Yes, yes I would.” Andrea’s voice was shaking and Miranda finally looked at her. Which made them both cry again and then the girls cried again and it was just a complete mess. The whole thing was just a complete and total mess and so wrong…so incredibly wrong.

“Alright, ladies let’s pull ourselves together. The three of you need to go to lunch and I need to go terrorize half of this building to make myself feel better…”

The girls got up and went into Miranda bathroom to wash their faces, leaving Miranda and Andrea alone. Miranda didn’t know what to do or say.

“We’re going for pizza I think or at least that’s what I was told earlier today.” Andrea sniffled and dried her eyes again.

“Good…that’s fine. Andrea, I know you will be busy but-“

“No.” Andrea said sternly “I know what you’re going to say and _no_ , I will not be too busy to spend time with them so don’t try to make excuses for me before any even need to be made. Please, don’t do that.”

“Actually that wasn’t what I was going to say at all. I was going to say that if your schedule permits, come stay with us next Friday. Bring movies, junk food, I don’t care. I just need them to be happy; I need all three of you to be happy.” Miranda got up and pulled the chair back to her desk. She was desperate for a little space.

“Okay, sorry. Yes. I’ll be there. I’ll do whatever I have to and I’ll be there.” Andrea stood up and smoothed out her dress. “Miranda, I was thinking of going home after lunch.”

Miranda stiffened and kept her back turned for a moment. She had been thinking the very same thing. She didn’t know if she could say goodbye to Andrea twice. “That’s fine. Do as you wish. I’m sure you have things to catch up on at home…the girls…well, we have a gift for you.”

Just then the girls came out of the bathroom. “We’re ready to go now. We’re all good, no more crying right, Caroline?”

“Right. Can we give Andy her gift now mom?”

“Yes, but I think we should let her open it at home and she can call you later and tell you what she thinks of it. Is that acceptable?”

“Sounds good…I’m starving.”

Ten minutes later Andrea was gone with Miranda’s children, with her gift, and with a shopping bag full of her personal things. For the first time in twenty years Miranda felt like there was absolutely nothing here that mattered.

**_ EPISODE 6 _ **

Their Friday night sleep-over was here and the girls were more hyper tonight than on Christmas morning. Miranda felt just as hyper but she was stuffing it down deep inside. She had not seen Andrea’s face or heard her voice since her last day at _Runway_.  Andrea called the girls after she opened her gift and thanked them for the t-shirts but she had not spoken to Miranda, which was not only odd but disappointing…not to mention unacceptable. They usually always spoke on the phone when she called the girls but this time Andrea opted to send her ‘thank-you’ in an e-mail.

“Girls, girls, get away from the door please. I’ll not have you stampeding out into the street like a couple of heathens that have absolutely no manners…all though that describes you perfectly.”

“We have manners! We’re just excited!” Caroline yelled from her perch on the windowsill. “She’s gonna be here any second now!”

“It really is pointless for me to ask you not to scream and yell isn’t it? I apologize for thinking otherwise.” Miranda said sarcastically.

Cassidy patted her on the back “It’s okay mom. Apology accepted.”

“Oh my God. You’re both ridiculous. Look…she’s here and you didn’t even notice.” The girls jumped up and ripped the door open before Miranda could stop them. Just as she imagined the three of them stood out on the sidewalk hugging and carrying on. Miranda paid the cab driver and took Andrea’s bags inside since she obviously wasn’t paying any attention. “Would you three like to come inside or shall I bring some pillows and blankets out here for you?”

“Come on guys let’s get inside before she locks us out.” Andrea smiled up at her from the sidewalk and for the first time in over a week Miranda felt like she was on stable ground again. As soon as everyone was inside the girls grabbed Andrea’s bags and took them upstairs, leaving them both standing alone in the foyer. “Hey, I miss you, you know. It’s good to see you again.” Without any hesitation Andrea hugged her. At first Miranda did not know what to do but thought it would be at the very least rude to not return the hug…so she wrapped her arms around Andrea in a shared embrace. In almost three years Miranda had hardly ever touched her and when she did it was a light, inconsequential touch that of course meant nothing. This embrace was…everything and it ended too soon.

“I, yes…it’s good see you too. I trust you are enjoying your job?”

“So far, so good. I have a lot to learn.” Andrea led the way to the kitchen. “I think it will be okay though.”

“You underestimate yourself. You will do fine otherwise Spence wouldn’t have hired you.” Miranda pulled a Coke out of the refrigerator and poured it into a glass for her. She had not forgotten about the promise of junk food, which of course included the drinks and yes, pizza was on its way.

“Yeah, but it was you. You introduced me to him and –“

“No, for the fortieth time, no – I did not have _anything_ to do with you getting that job. I would not lie to you Andrea. He came to me because he wanted you there. I wish that you would believe me, I really do because this is getting old.” It was. They had already visited this topic ten times too many but Andrea refused to believe that Miranda had had nothing to do with the job offer. If anything, the _only_ thing Miranda had been a part of was helping Andrea negotiate her salary and that had only taken five minutes.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I guess it just happened so fast and it was…very unexpected and I didn’t really have time to…I don’t know.”

“I know…believe me I know.”

***

“Miranda!” Andrea yelled from the living room.

Miranda sighed and lifted her eyes to the ceiling. While Andrea and the girls were busy killing gangsters or something of that sort for the past hour Miranda had escaped to her study and unfortunately forgot to shut the door. Playing a game of Scrabble on her laptop was quite a chore when all she could hear were gun shots and three people yelling at one another.

“Miranda!” Andrea called for her again.

Okay, okay. Miranda got up, shut her laptop off and headed downstairs.  On the way she couldn’t help but think of how ticked off Meryl was going to be if anyone spilled Coke or dropped their pizza on the carpet. Oh, well.

“Yes, what is it?” Miranda stopped in the doorway and watched as Andrea pried herself up from the floor. There was pizza, cokes, popcorn and various boxes of candy and pillows all over the place.

“Here.” She handed Miranda Caroline’s Xbox controller. “I have to go pee and I don’t trust her. Do _not_ let this out of your sight and do _not_ let her get behind you. She will jump on your back and then she’ll try to _choke_ you. Consider yourself warned.”

Andrea disappeared and Miranda got comfortable on the couch. “Mom, let me have it just for a second I _swear_ I’m not going to do anything.”

“Absolutely not. I have no interest in seeing a death match happen in here again. Once was enough. You both nearly destroyed the living room and this couch still hasn’t recovered from your sister jumping up and down on it like some crazed spectator.” Miranda protectively folded her arms over the controller and Caroline threw herself into the nearest chair to pout.

Cassidy remained on the floor and looked up at them both. “Caroline shut up already. You’re just mad because she’s kicking your as—I mean butt.”

Miranda glared at Cassidy. “I see your language skills need some serious looking after. We’ll discuss that later young lady.”

“Discuss what? Thanks.” Andrea came back into the living room and took the controller back and handed it to Caroline.

“Mom’s mad because I kinda almost said a bad word.” Cassidy rolled her eyes.

“Hm…well you know she doesn’t like that so you have two choices, right? Either chill out or she’ll get mad and life as you know it will be over. Take your pick. Now…turn this game back on. I want to get promoted to a mob boss before we watch a movie. I’m on a roll.”

Everyone got back to their killing spree and Miranda remained planted on the couch, unable to move. Andrea had changed while she was gone. She was now laying on the floor in white tank top and a pair of boxers…light blue, micro checkered…Miranda had given her those. 

Miranda had no idea how long she sat there staring, perhaps thirty minutes, perhaps two hours, she would never know but suddenly there was movement and a major living room overhaul going on around her.

‘Okay, I’m the mob boss now so you all have to do what I say. Ha, ha. Caroline, get all these pizza boxes out of here and Cassidy start picking up all this freakin’ candy off the floor. Meryl will cut our thumbs off if she sees one Skittles on the floor. I’ll get fresh popcorn for the movie.”

“And more coke!”

‘No. You’re both about to die from coke poisoning as it is. Water is pretty much it for now.” Andrea proceeded to pick up all the drink cups as the girls tended to their respective tasks while mumbling about how they hated water.

“Hey.”

Miranda looked up at her and smiled, which was strange but Miranda wasn’t going to take the time to analyze it. She was happy for the moment and should be able to at least _attempt_ to smile right? “Yes, Andrea?”

“You want something to drink? Eat? You look sort of zoned out there. You haven’t moved in over an hour.” Andrea sat down on the couch right next to her instead of all the way on the other side. At least now she knew how much time had gone by while she was busy staring.

“I think I’m going to make a salad…get some water. I’m not up for pizza. Did you pick a movie?”

“Yes, how did you miss that argument?”

“I might have dozed off.”

“Hm, well they want to watch _Fellowship of the Rings_. I know it’s long but I guarantee you they’ll be asleep before Frodo makes it to Rivendell. Do you want to go change or something?”

“I believe I will.”

***

Andrea was right. The girls were fast asleep before Rivendell was even mentioned. “I will go put them to bed. There’s no point in them laying here on the floor like this. Do you wish to finish the movie?” Miranda slowly got up off the couch and started to rouse the girls from their sugar induced comas.

“You want to finish it?” Andrea asked as she paused the movie.

“I wouldn’t mind.” As much as it hurt Miranda to be alone with Andrea she would take every chance given to her now that she didn’t see her every day. “Caroline, Cassidy. Up, up…let’s go.”

“Okay, I’ll get you some more water.”

Miranda was finally able to wake both the girls up enough to get them to their beds. They complained but were out again as soon as their heads it their pillows. Miranda left the door open just a crack and watched them for a moment. It was good to see them this happy, this content; even if they were full of junk food. Besides, just like the gifts Andrea gave them, the junk food had absolutely nothing to do with how happy they were tonight.

Enough watching. Now it was time to go back to downstairs and torture herself some more. All the lights were off down here now, leaving the TV to do the job of lighting the room so Miranda carefully made her way to the couch since the floor was still littered with pillows. Suddenly she realized there was no room on the couch as Andrea was stretched out all the way across it. Miranda just stood there for a moment, looking down at her, watching her take slow even breaths. Her hair was down, falling across her shoulders in waves and it was…

“Hey.” Andrea opened her eyes and Miranda knew she had not been asleep after all. “Here I’ll move.” She started to get up but Miranda stopped her.

“No, no it’s alright. I can sit over here.”

“No. Seriously, please sit with me.” Miranda was a little surprised by the look on her face. It wasn’t panic but it wasn’t calm either. “I’ll sit up.”

She started to move and her shirt rode up again and as soon as Miranda caught sight of her smooth pale skin she covered up her gasp with a quick cough. “Just curl your legs up a bit and I’ll have enough room.” As if that would help. That would just mean that her feet with toe nails painted in a deep shade of purple would be right next to Miranda leaving her little choice but to keep her hands in her lap at all times. Fabulous.

“Okay…you ready?” Andrea sat up just a little and yes, her feet were a mere two, three inches away from Miranda.

“I’m ready.”

Andrea turned the movie back on and Miranda was able to relax a little bit. She really did love this movie, all three of them actually. She would never forget the first time she saw it. After she paused it for the twentieth time to study some intricate part of a costume the girls headed to their bedroom to watch another movie on their own TV. Up until that moment Miranda was quite sure she had seen everything there was to see in the world of fashion and design, but she had been wrong.

“You know it took me forever to figure out how to kill these guys in the game. I think I died five times before I figured it out.” Andrea motioned toward the TV where Aragorn was busy fighting the Ring Wraiths.

“What?”

“The game…the video game. I never realized you have to pick up the stupid torch.”

“Ah, well I suppose it’s a good thing you learned then.” Miranda tried not to laugh. She could just picture Andrea cursing and yelling at the game until she figured out that it was her own fault she was being slaughtered. Typical.

“Yeah, as you can imagine I was pretty pissed off.”

“Yes…yes I can imagine.”

“Hey…thank you for today.”

If anybody here needed to be thanked it definitely was not Miranda. “I hardly see what I need to be thanked for. I only provided the sugar and carbs.”

“No, you did much more than that. You always do. This would not be the same without you here.” Miranda wondered if there was an echo in the room because those were the exact words she wanted to say to Andrea. Yet they were being said to _her_ and Miranda had no idea why. “Are you cold? I’m cold.”

Miranda didn’t answer but pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and spread it over them both. Her left hand ended up underneath it, resting on top of Andrea’s foot. Miranda moved it back quickly but Andrea’s head shot up from her pillow. “No…it’s okay. Really, just leave it.” She laid her head back down quickly and focused her attention back on the screen. Miranda’s hands were clammy again but apparently that didn’t matter, so she put her hand back, resting it gently on Andrea’s cold feet. Just as Miranda was starting to be able to breathe regularly again, out of the blue Andrea asked, “What’s your number one, all-time favorite part in this movie?”

Ah, that was an easy answer. “Ngila Dickson.”

Andrea sat up a bit and looked at Miranda like she had three heads. “What?”

Miranda rolled her eyes. “Oh, lay back down and I’ll explain it to you.” Andrea laid her head back down on the pillow and Miranda absentmindedly began to rub her foot slowly. “Ngila Dickson is the costume designer for all three of these movies, silly. She is quite possibly one of the most brilliant people alive, in my opinion.”

“Yeah?”

“ _Yeah_. Don’t tell me you haven’t seen the extras.” Miranda motioned toward the tv with a sweeping gesture. “Tolkien might have created this world but Ngila Dickson put the clothes on their backs and no one can tell me otherwise. It’s all in the details. Everything is in the details and the horrible part is that a large portion of those _details_ are missed on screen. And to think about the money and time that it took to produce that type of experience…makes my head spin.”

“Wow…so you feel pretty strongly about that, huh?”

“I do. Don’t ever tell anyone this but if I ever met the woman…quite frankly I would probably forget what I even wanted to say to her to begin with.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

“No, it’s true. I could never create something like that. It’s truly remarkable.”

“You create something every day Miranda.”

“No…not exactly. I merely pick and choose which things to display. I do not necessarily create. I used to think so…but enough time as gone by for me to know the difference.”

“I disagree but I know better than to argue with you.”

“Thank you.”

“Although I gotta say…it’s totally cute to see you fangirling over someone…” Andrea giggled and Miranda rolled her eyes. There was no way she was asking what ‘fangirling’ meant. Perhaps tomorrow she would look it up.

For the next hour or so, Miranda concentrated on breathing and rubbing the feet that had somehow found their way on to her lap. Her insides felt like a roller coaster or a ticking time bomb; or perhaps both. This couldn’t last; this comfortable feeling, this sense of belonging with someone. Soon the movie would be over and they would go to separate rooms and Miranda would just have to wait until the next time, the next phone call, email, visit, to feel this way again.

***

The movie finally ended but neither of them moved. They let the credits roll all the way to the end and DVD actually had time to reset back to the main menu. Miranda wasn’t even aware the player could do that. Finally Andrea sat up, giving Miranda no reasonable excuse to remain seated so she stood up, quickly said goodnight and practically ran up to her room.

Now she was lying in the bed looking at the ceiling, drumming her fingers against the blankets. This was probably going to be another one of those sleepless nights. Two hours had gone by and her eyes had not closed one time. Why couldn’t she get rid of this? Why couldn’t she just stop feeling this way? Every time she tried to stop it never worked…

There was a noise…a voice, maybe two. Something was probably wrong. Miranda put her robe on and slowly opened the door. A light was coming from the girls’ bedroom. Cassidy was probably sick from all that candy. As soon as Miranda turned the corner she stopped. Andrea was leading Caroline, not Cassidy back to her bedroom by the hand. Something didn’t seem right but she decided to wait until Andrea came out of the room. A few minutes later Andrea come out and closed the door. She must have sensed that Miranda was standing there waiting because before she even turned around she said “Caroline…too much candy I think.”

Once she turned all the way around and walking toward Miranda it started happening again. The sweats, the nausea, her hands were clammy and now she even felt dizzy. Andrea kept coming closer and Miranda put a firm hand on the wall to keep herself upright. “She came into my room talking about trees and something about The Prancing Pony…you know? The inn. I don’t know. It kinda freaked me out at first because she- Miranda?”

“Yes? Sleep-walking…too much candy. I’ll…we’ll talk about it in the morning. Goodnight.” Miranda turned around to try and go back to her bedroom but Andrea followed her.

“What’s wrong Miranda? Something’s wrong with you, what is it?”

Miranda whipped back around “Wrong? Nothing is wrong, don’t be ridiculous. Goodnight.”

“Don’t tell me to not be ridiculous. What is it?” Andrea moved to grab her hand but Miranda jerked away just as she was reaching her bedroom door. “No, wait. Stop, please. I feel like something’s wrong. Something’s _been_ wrong. You look at me like…I don’t know. Did I…have I, done something?”

“As I said, don’t be ridiculous. Goodnight, Andrea.” Miranda went thought the door and practically closed it right in Andrea’s face. Just as the locked clicked into place, Andrea knocked. Oh, God. This was never going to end was it?

“Miranda let me in, we need to talk.”

“Andrea, please go to bed.”

“We need to talk. I feel like something isn’t right.”

Miranda sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the door. What would happen if she opened it? What would happen if they talked? Would they really talk or would Miranda skirt around the issues? If she really told Andrea what she _really_ needed to know, would she lose her? What little bit of her she had?

“Andrea…please…just please go to bed.”

There was no response and Miranda breathed a sigh of relief. But oh, no. Then she heard a sound from the next room and her heart stopped. As luck and opportunity would have it, when Miranda had that wall between the girls bedrooms knocked out, she took that chance to have a doorway knocked out between her bedroom and the guest room next door that was never used. She turned that room into her new closet and used her old walk-in to house all her shoes and accessories. It was a grand idea and she thoroughly enjoyed it, but now? Now that she realized she _never_ locked that bedroom door from the hallway, it all seemed like a horrible, horrible idea.

Right on time Andrea burst into her bedroom from the closet. “You sure are a hard lady to see sometimes. I thought I was going to have to call Emily to get a damn appointment or something. Now…tell me what is wrong. _Seriously_.” Andrea swept her hair out of her face then folded her arms in front of her as she leaned against the wall. Miranda could tell there was no way she was getting out of this. Andrea would be more likely to tie her to a chair than let her leave this room.

“I already told you Andrea. Nothing is wrong, everything is perfectly fine.”

“No…no it isn’t _perfectly fine_.” Andrea began pacing back and forth in front of the bed “In the hallway there you looked…I don’t know; but when you saw me you just looked sick. And that’s not the first time that’s happened. Right when I think everything is going good you get this funny look on your face and I can’t figure out what it means. Do you not want me here?”

“No…no that isn’t what I want at all.” Miranda gripped the bedspread with both her hands to keep herself from getting up.

“I didn’t think so but that still doesn’t explain things. I mean come on, half the time when I’m here now you hide! You like literally go away and I mean I know the three of us are loud and I know that drives you crazy but if it really bothers you that much I’d rather you just tell me than have you go away. You know I come here to see you just as much as I come here to see them.” Now she was pacing slower and running her hands through her hair in frustration. There was no bra under the tank top now…and those boxers were just perfect on her and… “Hello? Miranda you have to have some answers somewhere in that head of yours.”

“Andrea for God’s sake, nothing is wrong. How many times must I say it? It’s just…you’re just. You’re just…” She motioned toward Andrea with her hand, keeping her eyes on the floor.

“I’m just what!” Andrea managed to find a way to whisper and yell all at the same time. “I mean I seriously don’t get it. You want me over here yet half the time you look at me like I’ve got the plague or I’ve got on some horrible rag from five seasons ago. Maybe that’s it! You don’t like what I wear. I never thought of that before, ironic isn’t it? Because I always thought that if I was here on my _own_ time it didn’t matter what I wore.”

“Andrea…” But Andrea did not hear her.

“Is it what I wear around here when we’re just chilling out? I was honestly surprised that you didn’t have something to say about the boxers and tank-tops I run around in but no, that can’t be it because you freakin’ bought me more of them! Yet…wait…” Andrea stopped in her tracks and faced the bed. “Wait…Miranda. Every time you see me like this…that’s when you look sick, that’s when you run off.”

“Stop.” When Andrea started to speak again Miranda found her legs and stoop up. “You need to stop.”

“And you need to give me some answers!”

Miranda’s answer was to press her up against the wall and kiss her but she refrained because for some reason, she was angry now. “Alright! Would you like some answers? I’ll give you a few. Yes, yes the boxers…tank-tops, bother me but not in the way you think they do. Not in the least.”

“You mean they…holy shit.” Andrea slapped her forehead and started to pace the room again. “This turns you on doesn’t it? Doesn’t it?”

Miranda wanted to pace too but there simply wasn’t room for both of them so she just stood still with her hands on her hips. “Yes! Yes it does.” And now Miranda was doing her own fine version of yelling and whispering. “Are you happy now? Is that the answer you were looking for?”

“Let me make sure I’ve got this right. Miranda Priestly gets turned on by a pair of _boxer shorts_? Really?”

“No! Well yes but it has more to do with who’s wearing them…”

“Yeah?”

Miranda threw her hands up “ _Yeah_. Surprise, surprise.”

Suddenly Andrea stopped pacing “Miranda why didn’t you just tell me that a long time ago?”

“What? Tell you a long time ago! How would I have gone about that? ‘Andrea, I want Starbucks and when you bring _The Book_ tonight wear these. That’s all!’ Is that how you would have had me confess? My children love you Andrea and I was _trying_ my very best not to jeopardize their relationship with you by telling you that you are a walking hazard to my _health_ not to mention to my _sanity_. Now are you happy? Now do you have all the answers you need?” Miranda took a few steps back and a few deep breaths. This was out of control. Her controlled, emotionless, voice was gone. Her resolved was gone. Everything was just gone.

“Yes, thank you. I think…but why then? Why, if you felt this way about me, why did you send me away?”

“Oh, for the love of God! Andrea!” Miranda was upon her so quick that Andrea didn’t even have time to blink before Miranda had her literally backed into a corner. “How many, many, _many_ times must I tell you that I did-not-send-you-away. How many times?” Just thinking about that last day brought tears to Miranda’s eyes. “Do you…do you honestly think I would ever do something like that to my children intentionally. Do you?” Miranda backed away now and motioned for Andrea to sit in a chair that was against the wall. “God, I wanted to tell him no. I wanted to tell Spencer to go to hell. But I also knew this was a good thing for you. I knew I was hurting my children…and I definitely knew I was hurting myself. The one thing I hadn’t really counted on was how much it would hurt you. And it has hasn’t it?”

“Yes…it has.” Andrea answered her through her own tears now.

“On that last day when I saw you crying on the floor in my office surrounded by my babies I have _never_ , _ever_ felt so retched in all my life. Not even on my worst day at _Runway_ have I felt that retched. By trying to do the right thing I feel like I broke all three of your hearts… I’m not sure how to remedy that but I can tell you this. If you leave them because of what you know now then I will _never_ be able to forgive you.”

“Miranda, you didn’t break my heart. It just scared me. Okay, it _terrified_ me. It terrified me because I thought you wouldn’t let me see them anymore. I thought you wouldn’t want to see _me_ anymore.  For that whole month…before I left, I hardly ate, hardly slept…I just. I was terrified. I can’t lose them…and I can’t lose you. I can’t. Regardless of a job. I cannot lose _any_ of you! It would rip me apart.”

“Well you’re in luck because a different job is about as far as I’ll ever let you go because I want you in my life, in their lives, in _our_ lives. When you’re _here_ everything is right. Even when they’re driving me crazy with all that yelling and screaming, or I’ve had the worst day imaginable at work, everything is right.  And every time you walk _out_ that door, even before this job change, it’s as if any stability I ever thought I had leaves right out the door with you.” Finally…it was done. It was out there in the open and free. Finally.

Andrea wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and settled into the chair.  She seemed to relax and in turn, Miranda felt like a tremendous weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

“I’m tired of crying; Miranda…we’ve all been doing a lot of that lately.”

“I quite agree. It’s certainly a horrible habit to form.”

“You know…I want them in my life too. You already know that. But…I want you in my life just as much, Miranda.”

“Andrea…I meant what I said. I’m not letting you go…and if I can manage to get you into my bed? Well, I’m not letting you go from there either. I just thought you should know…before you said anything else.”

“Yeah?” Andrea raised an eyebrow.

“ _Yeah_.” What was it with them always doing this back and forth ‘yeah’ thing? As much as Miranda wanted to laugh all the sudden, she couldn’t. Andrea was getting up now and a heavy sense of dread filled Miranda’s chest. She was leaving. She was going to walk away…But no…

Andrea walked past Miranda and climbed right into bed. Just like that. She was right, Miranda should have just told her a long time ago.

“Well? I’m in your bed, and I’m _not_ in here to have you read me a story.”

Miranda slipped off her robe and sat down on the edge of…their bed. If Andrea was in it, then it was theirs not Miranda’s. “No, I suspect you are not. And now “Miranda climbed in next to her “you are quite simply…trapped. I do hope you enjoy your stay because it will definitely be a long one.”

“How long?”

“Until we die from natural causes or the children kill us…which ever happens first. Does that sound acceptable to you?”

“Hm…tell me what it is about these boxers that make you so…crazy and then I’ll tell you if that’s an acceptable time frame.”

“Well if you must know…” Miranda slid under the covers and took a very deep breath. What happened to ‘I’m not in here to have you read me a story’? The last thing she really wanted to be doing right now was talking but apparently Andrea had other ideas. Miranda would just have to wait her out and that was certainly not something Miranda was good at. But, she would make an exception just this once. When she felt Andrea move closer to her, she froze. Perhaps talking was okay for now…

“Don’t be nervous. Now…tell me why these boxers make you so crazy. Tell me.” Andrea leaned into Miranda’s neck and kissed her gently making every inch of Miranda’s skin come to life. She started to turn onto her side to gain proper access to Andrea’s mouth but was denied. “No, not yet. Tell me Miranda.”

“Is this some sort of punishment?” Miranda said breathlessly.

“Not really. I just want to know and we have a lifetime to…” Andrea used the tip of her finger to trace a line down Miranda’s neck and along the center of her chest. “do everything and anything else. I’m willing to stay trapped here forever but you gotta at least do what I say every now and then. Now…for the _fortieth time_ , tell me.”

“Alright, alright.” Miranda breathed in through her nose and tried to find a spot on the ceiling to concentrate on. Andrea was driving her mad, slowly moving the tip of her finger along Miranda’s neck, arms…and now her breasts. “Oh, God. I hope you realize that paybacks are in your future. Now…when I first saw in them…ah…it was after Brazil. I should have never let you go. I was crazy the whole time you were gone. As I was…hm, that is…killing me” Andrea traced circles around Miranda’s nipples and along the contour of her breasts.

“Go on. I’m waiting.”

“Ahem…you were so…it was sexy. I thought I was going insane at first. When you left the kitchen I had to lay my forehead on the counter top…I felt so…And then by the time I saw you in those jeans…”

“When?”

“Saturday…I cooked you breakfast, remember?”

Andrea leaned down and kissed her lips so gently it was almost like a ghost and it left Miranda begging for more. “Please…please kiss me again.”

“Finish telling me…and yes I remember now. Art projects. Go on.” Andrea moved her hand down to Miranda’s legs and began tracing lines down her thighs.

“I uh…you tried to reach the glass and I saw them. I spilled my coffee.”

“I remember. I knew…I knew then that something wasn’t right for sure. I had thought so before but I knew then that something wasn’t right. I just couldn’t figure it out. You’re not good at hiding your reactions but you are very good at hiding your reasons.”

“Yes….oh, God yes…” Miranda moaned as Andrea cupped her breast and squeezed it, rubbing her thumb over her sensitive nipples. “I cried when you left the night…when I gave you back your boxers and tank-top. I thought I could never have you and it was tearing me apart.”

“Well, you have me now. You sort of always did in a way.” Suddenly Andrea moved over her, settling down between Miranda thighs. “I’m going to kiss you Miranda. Just like I’ve always wanted too. Would you like to know the first time I thought about what it would be like to kiss you?”

“Yes…yes tell me” Miranda inhaled sharply as Andrea took her tank-top off. She immediately reached up to touch her but Andrea brushed her away, yet her own nipples instantly went rock hard which only served to make Miranda even hungrier.

“We were on our way to _Runway Italia_ …two months after your little stunt in Paris. You were asleep.” Andrea paused and pushed up Miranda’s silk night shirt; her hands felt strong but were so gentle. “I’m taking this off now.” Miranda rose up just a bit and Andrea pulled it over her head and tossed it toward the floor. “Like I was saying…you’re gorgeous you know. Really I hope you know that.” Andrea seemed to forget about that _Runway Italia_ trip as she leaned over Miranda, pressing their bodies together.  They both moved into one another and Miranda almost came from that alone but managed to reign herself in. “You feel so good Miranda.” And finally Miranda received a proper kiss. Once Andrea lips brushed against hers she pulled her in and was determined to not let Andrea go. Enough teasing. At least in that regard. Andrea must have felt the same way because she promptly claimed Miranda’s mouth, exploring every part of it, leaving Miranda in desperate need for air. But that was okay, Miranda didn’t need oxygen. Her hands traveled down Andrea’s back and finally came to rest at her hips…and she felt the waistband of those damn boxers.

She must have made some sort of sound because Andrea pulled back and looked at her. “Are you okay?”

Gasping for air Miranda said “Am I okay? You’re so ridiculous…it’s just.” She patted Andrea’s hips with her hands. “As I’ve already explained, these are…”

Andrea laughed “Oh, that’s right. I almost forgot. That is so crazy…you know that right? Almost unbelievable but I like it. It’s just for me to know and that is really nice considering how _popular_ you are.” She laughed again.

“I won’t be _popular_ for much longer if I die in this bed; which is a distinct possibility since you’re trying to kill me.”

“I am not trying to kill you.” She said as she moved her mouth to Miranda’s neck, kissing at it hungrily, making Miranda press up into her body and tightened her grip on Andrea’s hips. “Hm…God, Miranda…”

Miranda took her hands and laced their fingers together, holding them out to her sides. It was almost unreal, to be holding Andrea’s hands like this. She thought about all those times she had wanted to do this and tightened her grip. Now she didn’t have to dream about it anymore. She could just do it.

“That feels good…to hold your hands.” Andrea sat up on her knees and looked at their joined hands. She brought them to her lips and kissed the tops of Miranda hands then let go, sliding her hands over Miranda arms and down over her breasts. “It feels good to hold these too.” Miranda blushed and wanted to hide her face. Hearing compliments about her body was not necessarily something she was used to. Especially at this age. “Don’t turn your head. I told you already…you’re gorgeous.” Andrea continued to move her hands over Miranda’s body, her arms, even her face. It was almost as if Miranda’s soul was being uncovered with each movement.

“I’ve decided that I love your hands. They are all mine now.”

“Well that works out great for me because my hands love your body.” Andrea slid her hands down Miranda’s sides then slowly began freeing her of the last piece of clothing; the dark blue panties that were now thoroughly soaked. Miranda bit her lip and moaned as Andrea’s finger tips brushed lightly against her thighs. This felt incredible but was torture in its finest form. “Miranda what do you want…what do you want me to do…to make you feel good.” Andrea asked as she began to caress Miranda’s body from top to bottom all over again. This question took Miranda by surprise simply because she had never been asked such a question before. Not once had anyone wanted to know from her own lips how to please her, give her what she desired, or needed in this way. To be asked now, after all these years nearly stole her words.

“I…Andrea, I don’t know.” She didn’t. Miranda knew, had always known, that even _she_ didn’t know what she liked. “I’ve never been asked…before. I don’t even know…”

Andrea scooted away from her just a bit and picked up her right leg and kissed her ankle gently then down the top of her foot. “Well then I suppose we’ll just have to find out together…won’t we?” Andrea held her ankle in one hand and moved her other hand down the length of Miranda’s calf, while placing kisses down her shin and the inside of her knee. “Do you like this? Me kissing every part of you…you like that?”

“Yes…yes I do. So beautiful…you’re so beautiful Andrea.”

Andrea smiled at her as she kissed the inside of her thigh then gave her left leg the same treatment, starting at the foot and moving up to her thigh. It left Miranda breathless and aching for a relief she never knew she needed…until she saw those damn boxers of course.

Suddenly Andrea was over her again, kissing her again, making her crazy again. Miranda wrapped her arms tightly around Andrea; kneading her skin, feeling the taught muscles in her back. She couldn’t take in anymore. She was too hungry and too needy to continue in this discovery no matter how glorious it was. Miranda wanted to feel her…now.

She moved her hands down Andrea’s back and kissed her harder not only because she tasted so good that Miranda couldn’t get enough, but because she needed to distract her. Miranda knew if Andrea caught wind of what she was doing, she would stop her since Andrea seemed intent on controlling this portion of the evening.

Slowly Miranda slipped her hands under the waist band of Andrea’s boxers. She left one hand on her lower back but slipped the other around the front, lightly skimming the surface of her skin. Just before Miranda moved her hand down between them she spread her legs further and pressed down on Andrea’s lower back bringing her even closer. As Miranda slid her fingers inside, Andrea immediately removed herself from where her face was buried in Miranda’s breasts. “Oh, my God…Miranda!...”

“Darling…ah..yes. I can’t wait any longer. I need to touch you…to feel you deep inside.”

There were no complaints as Andrea rested her elbows on either side of Miranda’s head and looked into her eyes as she moved hard against Miranda’s hand. “Is this part of the…ah…yes…part of the pay back? Don’t stop Miranda…don’t stop…”

“Hm…so wet, so wet for me. I wanted to touch you so many times. Just like this.” Miranda was breathing harder and pressing up against Andrea with her whole body. She wanted to be touching every inch of her.

“I’ve…hm, yes…deeper. I want to touch you too…” Miranda felt like they both stopped breathing when Andrea finally touched her. The gentle pressure was all Miranda needed to come. Briefly remembering that they were not alone in the house, Miranda called out Andrea’s name in a sort of screamed whisper over and over then found her mouth captured again by Andrea’s lips. She had wanted to hold out longer but realized that it didn’t matter. They had plenty of time for more.

 While the first wave continued to roll through Miranda’s body, she couldn’t help but remove her hand from its place deep inside Andrea and just hang on. Andrea continued her gentle touch driving Miranda mad. She wanted it harder and faster but Andrea seemed to have regained control of the situation again and just when she was about to beg for it, Miranda came again. This time even harder than before, louder than before too because now Andrea’s free hand was over her mouth and had to control her own volume by burying her head in Miranda’s neck. “My God Miranda…yes…you feel so good this way. Coming for me over and over.”

“I want to…yes I want to…again.” Miranda was gasping for air now and barely able to hang on but she wanted more, needed more. ”Inside me…I want you inside Andrea.”

Andrea rose up just enough to look into Miranda’s eyes and asked her. “Is this what you want…what you need?” And then without another word Andrea slid inside effortlessly filling Miranda with three fingers. Miranda’s back arched off the bed but was pushed back down by Andrea’s weight as she kissed her harder and deep with each stroke to keep her quiet. Miranda wasn’t sure how she found the strength but she was able to wrap her legs around Andrea and match her rhythm. This seemed to spur Andrea on, causing her deepen her thrusts.

Miranda tore away from their kiss and grabbed her face with both hands. “I love you…please…yes! Andrea it’s so good…feels so good, darling.” Suddenly she felt Andrea’s back tense up then her body seemed to melt and sink down into Miranda.

“See what you…do? Just being inside you made me come….God, Miranda you feel so good…so good.” 

“Yes…I see…” She did see. She saw it in Andrea’s eyes, the want, the need, the love. It was all there. Miranda felt that burning hunger build from her center and spread all throughout her body and as another orgasm ripped through her she bit down hard on Andrea’s shoulder to keep from crying out.

Finally she couldn’t hold on any longer and her arms and legs dropped to the bed. As her breathing slowly returned to a somewhat normal pace, Andrea kissed her neck and shoulders softly, whispering to her with each kiss as she moved along her body. “I love you…so…so…much. So much.”

“Hm…God…you’ve killed me darling…absolutely killed me.”

“No…no I haven’t’. Not yet. I’m just loving you Miranda.” Andrea said as she slowly removed her hand and rolled to her side, gathering Miranda into her arms, holding her tightly.

“So…is this…” Miranda began kissing the side of her neck and face gently. “Is that timeframe I mentioned before…acceptable to you?”

“I think so. It seems a bit short actually…but.” Andrea smiled and kissed her lips “I can certainly deal with it.”

“Well good…now” Miranda pulled and the waistband of the boxers “I love these…but they need to go away for a while.”  

**_ EPILOGUE _ **

Miranda smiled into her pillow and rolled back over to look at the ceiling. She loved reliving those little episodes of her life. Some of it made her sad…but the end result brought her little family so much joy in the end. The tears had been worth it. Andrea belonged to them now, not just to Miranda. And in turn they all belonged to her. There was only one thing that solely belonged to Miranda. Those damn boxers.

“Hey.” Andrea slipped quietly into the room and closed the door behind her.

“Hey. Get back in this bed. Now.”

Andrea climbed in and wrapped an arm and leg around her. “Hm…you smell good.” She said as she kissed Miranda’s shoulder.

“It’s that new shampoo…you should try it.” Miranda turned in her embrace and laid her head on Andrea’s shoulder.

“I think it’s more than that…” She laughed.

“Yes well…that is your fault seeing as how you simply cannot keep your hands off of me.”

“Well, I told you a long time ago that my hands love your body. So deal.”

“I’m dealing…I’m dealing.” Miranda sighed and began tracing the waist band of her boxers. They wouldn’t be remaining on her body for much longer. Miranda had plans.

“Hey guess what.”

“Every time you say ‘hey guess what’ it means you want something.” Miranda kissed her cheek and stopped playing with her boxers. She knew what was coming next. Breakfast.

“The kids are going to the movies with all their little girlfriends in a few hours…and I was thinking that once they leave we can come back in here…”

“Yes and what else? There is always something else.”

“French toast.” Andrea playfully scrambled away from her and got up on her knees and folded her hands in front of her, preparing to beg.

“Oh, God. _Really_?” Miranda rolled her eyes.

“Yes really. Please oh please?” Andrea smiled sweetly and continued to beg.

“Cassidy is a horrible influence on you. I’m sending her to boarding school. Today.” Miranda sat up in the bed and pulled her in close.

“Actually I’m better at begging than she is.”

“Yes…yes you are. Especially when I have you naked in this bed.”

“This is true. _So_. Breakfast? French toast? Eggs?” Andrea climbed off the bed and started to put on her robe.

“Fine.” Miranda smiled as she got up and did the same. “But take that robe off. It ruins the view of my favorite thing.”

“Yeah?” Andrea smirked.

“ _Yeah_.”

THE END


End file.
